WE WERE HOPING FOR PEOPLE WITH JOBS. We weren’t targeting them, or a specific “look” for the not-average protester. It wasn’t a bias, either. Before The Observer and our trusty photographer started out at Zuccotti Park around 5PM last night, we didn’t have a target person in mind to look for so much as a target mosaic. We wanted to continue to help develop a de facto census of who’s going down to Occupy Wall Street.

But we had to hope for people with jobs. Not so much out of political interest, or vested sentiment in what’s been happening in Zuccotti Park, but because it would otherwise be a long, torturous five hours. Five hours, of trying to interview people and ending up on the receiving end of cliched, dreadlocked, meandering bongo drummers’ varying Phish-inflected political manifestos, who have been so reliably portrayed in much of the media recently as the vast majority of those down there.

That would be a long, awful five hours. That is not a plum assignment.

What we found instead was the opposite. Were those people there? Surely. But they were in far lesser numbers than many have been led to believe. And yes, we spoke with protest celebrities, and people who would give cause to the import of cliche.

Yet, more often than not, we found people from all walks: a military veteran, a New Yorker photographer, a media consultant, someone who works on Gossip Girl, someone who’s actually been profiled by the Observer, an architect, a doctor, an aspiring corporate lawyer, a guy who works on a trading desk, and more than a few small business owners, among them. And we didn’t have to look hard: Zuccotti Park gets particularly interesting at night, where people who most definitely have the same obligations that many of us do are choosing to spend their after-work hours there.

Not all of them felt strongly about any particular issue. Most of them didn’t want capitalism to go away. One of them was even patently annoyed at the protest he was attending.

But he was still there. That point, so obvious at face-value, will eventually emerge as crucial to a nuanced understanding of this thing, which it’s impossible not to walk away with after talking to fifty of these people for five hours: strangers making themselves a part of something. If there’s one definitive, common thread we observed, it’s that everyone was glad to be brought together with strangers they’d otherwise never meet, even if it is by a general malaise. It was, cynicism aside, rather incredible to watch. Ideally, the following fifty people will help illuminate Occupy Wall Street’s emerging narrative, or at least the one we found: frustrated strangers, being exceptionally kind to one another.

What'd you do before? I worked in theater production. I went from theater production into education. I lived in California for nine years, and I worked in the organic food movement in the 70s. And then I came back here and worked in international educational exchanges. I've done a lot of different things.

What brought you down here today? To lend support to these amazing young people. It's very important, what they're trying to do.

Any issue that strikes you personally? Just the beauty of what they're attempting to achieve, because our society has so much dishonesty, greed and corruption. I applaud what they're doing. Every time I come, I bring food for them.

Do you cook it yourself? Oh no, no. I buy something and I bring it down.

Have you been coming down here often, Reverend? Oh yes. Oh. Yes. We canceled all of our shows. This...is it.

How long do you plan on being here for? When do my shows begin again? We will worship. In. The corner office. Up at the top. Of Number One Manhattan Plaza. That whole upper area up there, which has been described to me by radicals, who buy a share, and go up there once a year, the shareholders. My church will be up there. And, uh, Jamie Dimon? He'll be down here. In Liberty Square. Feeding the pigeons.

Do you mind if we get a picture? No, I'd love to. Amen? Amen. But my 18 month-old daughter and wife are waiting for me, so, amen. Amen, children! Praise be! [Pointing at police.] YOU POLICE PEOPLE HAVE A GOOD UNION! DON'T FORGET THAT! [Walks away, shouting.] Thank you! Amen!

What do you do? I work in costume, wardrobe and fashion, for film and television.

Currently employed? I am, I'm employed part-time. I work for a television show, Gossip Girl?

Gossip Girl! Of course!I work part-time while I have him, and that's actually been great, and I feel really supported by my crew there, and everything like that, with having a baby.

Is this your first time down here? It's not, I have a friend down here, who's a Traveler, and an amazing musician. I came down here to drop her off; she just happened to be in town as this was happening. I wasn't sure what I was expecting. I tend to...I think protests are important, but I also think it's important to put your energy towards the thing that you want rather than yelling at everything that you don't want.

But? But I came down and found so much peace, and positivity. My boyfriend and I—his father—came here, and then we came down for the march. We talked it over. We don't want to do things [like that] on a whim because it's the cool thing to do, but we felt very strongly about the reasons we were marching. We both work. We are employed. And we both work very hard, and we're now focusing on starting our own companies outside of the jobs we hold. But we realized that we pay a lot of taxes. When I was single and without children, I was paying 40%, because I jumped a bracket, because I finally started earning something decent. And I'm totally cool with paying taxes. But I think we need to have fair taxes, without all those corporate loopholes. We don't have things like health care, and our school system is failing. I'm thinking of sending [Zane] to private school, which..I don't even know how I'll afford that, because our school system is failing. There's no money in there. We realized it was important, for us, to support social programs.

How's Zane enjoying this? He slept through most of the march. [Laughs.] Sometimes he likes it, and sometimes it's a little much for him.

What brought you down here? I don't know if I'm a protester, but I'm definitely a fellow Traveler.

Any political issues, specifically? Bankers keep talking about compensation like they earn it. And it's clear to everyone that they don't. That it's a scam. And the more that point is hammered home, the better.

Are you a staff photographer, or a freelance? Freelance. New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine.

What was the last thing you shot for The New Yorker?James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem.

Neat! So, what brought you down here? Well, I kind of grew up with parents who very essentially progressive. I think I knew that this movement was different than all the other ones that, like: when I was in college, I really thought protests were annoying. And I think this protest is annoying too! However, I think the message here is one that is just undeniably valid to me. And so I just had to come down and check it out. And also, I just felt that it was my civic duty to use the skills that I have to come down here and help out.

What brought you down here? The disparity of incomes, and just wanting to see a fair economic system.

Ramona's very excited. [Ramona jumps on us.] She's wagging her tail quite a bit, there. [Smiles, tries to keep dog from snacking on our camera..] She's a big believer in Rousseau, and well-versed in the French Revolution.

Is this your first time down here? Second, first time being in [the park]. The first time I was down here was two weeks ago, when it was first starting. I wasn't sure what form it was going to take and I wanted to sort of just see what was going on.

What do you do? I'm in the business of promoting green energy, and I have a website: Save Our Green Planet Dot Org. It's a no-ad, no-distraction site.

What brought you down here specifically? The passion to get people to see that the bottom line is not what the ROI on a profit and loss statement, but promoting a healthier planet and a positive life for our children, and our children's children.

Did you do anything before that? I used to be in retail sales. Wal-Mart, Spencer Gifts, K-Mart, stuff like that. I was also a freelance minister for Universal Life Church. I still do that.

Do you live in New York? I do now!

Where'd you live before this? Chicago. I got here last Saturday. I love it.

What brought you here? Basically causality. My dad's house got foreclosed on because he wasn't making enough money to pay his taxes. He was retired. And I was temporarily staying with him between jobs. It was a far north Chicago suburb, Zion.

Where's your dad now? With my brother, in Ohio.

How long do you plan on saying here for? Indefinitely. Until I find a job...or somebody drags me kicking and screaming.

Are you going to try to look for a job in New York? I already have begun.

In retail? In anything. I can do more than just retail! I've gotten a couple tips on bouncing for a club. I've got the build. I've got the martial arts.

From around here? I'm not, I live in Hudson, New York, in Columbia County. It's two hours from here.

Do you work up there? I do. I work for a solar energy company, and I also own a landscaping business.

What brought you down here today? I just wanted to stand in solidarity with everyone who's been here for the last couple of weeks. I wanted to come earlier, but I haven't had a chance. This was the first chance I had.

Any particular cause to support? Everyone's been talking about different things, but it's all the same. People are fed up with the fact that lobbyists own politics, and it doesn't matter who you vote for, or what you need. Corporations are the deciding factor. People are tired of it, and have been tired of it for a long time. And I don't know why this [motions behind her] happened now, but it's great. We've been talking about these things individually, but not collectively. And now, all over the country, all these cities. A lot of people don't know why they're frustrated, but they want to come here to talk about it, and tease it out. Why they don't believe in their country, or in democracy. The conversation that's come out of this is incredible. Everyone just came together.

And you're commuting down here! I am. I'm gonna go back tonight, and come back on Friday, and stay here until Monday.

You're gonna stay here, huh? Yeah, but I have some friends in the city, so I have an out.

Did you come just for this? I didn't, I came from upstate New York, for a photography workshop. I hadn't slept in four days, and I just had this intense...and where else do you go when you're in the city? I could've gone to museums, or a park, or this.

Are you a photographer by trade? I am. Just for me. I shoot portraits and kids, and I do documentary work.

What brought you down here to see this? Just to see it. Because it's history, and I heard about it.

Do you mind if we take your picture? Only if you let me take yours. I hate getting my picture taken!

Neighborhood? Westchester. From there originally? No, I'm from Inglewood, in L.A. originally.

Are you commuting here from Westchester every day? No, I'm staying here. It's my third day.

Job? I was auditing classes and working five hours a week as a cook. They only needed me on Sundays.

Why'd you come down here? Because I love my country. We deserve better.

Any specific issue? It's like a fucked up conglomerate—I'm sorry, I don't want to curse—of all these different issues, whether it's corporate greed, or inequality, or wealth distribution. These are all issues tied together because of the capitalist system, or at least how it's run.

How long do you plan on staying for? Until it's over. Or until I get arrested. I've got bail money in my "room."

What brought you down here? I don't like what we're doing with our money and with our government. I really support beautiful protests like Occupy Wall Street, so I thought I'd come down.

Do you have any ambitions for what you want to do when you get older? I've acted professionally since I was really little. But if I didn't do that, I'd definitely want to work in charity or in women's and children's services around the world.

How many times have you come down here? This is my first time. I haven't been able to come down before. And it definitely will not be my last.

And your parents are cool with this? Yup! As long as I'm back before it's too dark and I don't sleep here.

Cool. We don't want to get you grounded or anything. No, no. It's fine.

Neighborhood? Originally? Fort Greene/Clinton Hill, but now I live in the Bronx. A little section called Norwood, up by the Botanical Gardens.

What do you do? I'm a political activist and work for nonprofit organizations, working with labor unions petitioning for better health care, or just working in call centers. I've done a lot of campaign work, political work, letter writing campaigns.

How long have you been down here for? I've been here on and off since the first Wednesday. I camped out here for about a good two weeks, and then I needed a shower very badly, and then I said, Okay, I live in New York. What am I doing? So I went home, and showered, and relaxed a little before I came back. [Laughs.]

How long do you plan on being here for? As long as it takes. I mean, I have other obligations in life, but this is a top priority for me as well...

Well, what's the finishing line? I get this question a lot. All I want is for people to become more aware.

Is this your first time down here? No, I was here yesterday, and I've been meaning to come but since I've come, I want to come every day, now.

And what brought you down here? I know a lot of people who have been coming who are also professionals, not the individuals the media's been portraying this as. It's hard even for myself at the end of the month to have to pay rent and bills that I need. Like, imagine that. Everyone's in a tough situation.

Have you been sleeping [at Zuccotti Park]? I have not. I'm working at the Avaaz station during the day.

Staying with friends? In a hotel. The Holiday Inn right around the corner.

And you work for Avaaz? What's your title there? I'm an intern for research and development.

Did you ask for this assignment? No, I didn't! But I feel extremely lucky to be here, and be a part of this. I love being here, and what we're doing here. We're sharing messages of support and encouragement from members all around the world.

What do you do? I work at a bar right now, and I just graduated from NYU.

What would you like to do? I'd really like to write. I'd like to work at a theater. I'm also interested in humanitarian work, and museum work, even. I've done a lot of that in the past.

What brought you down here? I've just graduated, and I'm going through the struggle of finding a job. I'm about to come to the end of my grace period on student loans. I feel frustration for myself and my peers. My past two presidents have told me to work hard and study hard at school, and I've been set to compete with my generation for these top schools. I feel like I've done everything right, but there's nothing on the other end. The banks did everything wrong, and they were bailed out.

Hey there, do you have a moment to talk? What affiliation are you? Right-wing? Left-wing?

Neither. We're a small New York newspaper. We have a politically diverse newsroom, I think. [Blank stare.] Anarchist, I guess? Okay.

Neighborhood? I'm from Canarsie, Brooklyn, but I've lived in Staten Island for twelve years now.

What do you do in the city? Well, I've got two interviews coming up. Already had one, but nothing came out of it. But this is part of why I'm here: I've taken all the civil tests, I scored a 98.9 on the sanitation exam, but I'm still waiting on them. Basically, they're telling me they don't have room for me toclean up garbage for a living. I've got $40,000 in student loan debts. I have my degree. I've done internships.

What other jobs have you applied for? Production. I've interned at Maury, the Discovery Channel, freelance gigs. I've done production assistant gigs for the last three years. I know it's a competitive field.

Why are you here today? The last six years, I've been depressed. If I'm gonna live my life, I've gotta do something more...especially after what these fucking vampires have done to the world that we live in.

Has it made you feel better being down here? Oh yeah. I feel...human again. It's been great.

What brought you down here? Well, I kind of wasn't as drawn until they got the slogan together. "We are the 99 percent." That kind of drew me in. I'm probably not to the extreme left of some of the people here, but you can't disagree that the inequality is out of control.

What brought you down here? The movement. I started hearing about it a few days ago, and thought, let me come down here and see what this is. I started talking to people and reading the signs. All the things that you're saying and all the signs that you have are all things I've been thinking for a long time. And I wanted to be a part of it.

Where are you from? Calistoga, California. It's on top of the Napa Valley. But I'm staying in Connecticut while I'm here.

What do you do? I'm a freelance sales rep and landlord, and I have two college-educated, underemployed, and practically couch-surfing children. With their two fine educations.

You were talking about the library inside the park earlier. How is it?We spoke with one of the librarians, Michael. He was lovely and eloquent. I'm very impressed with the whole thing. I donated a book to them.

What do you do in the city? I'm a mortician's assistant at a funeral home on 9th Street between 4th and 3rd in Brooklyn.

What brought you down here? I have a lot of friends here. I used to work for an organization called Food Not Bombs. It's a nonprofit feeding-the-homeless organization. And once this happened, my instinct told me to come here and spend my days.

Are you commuting out here every day? I come here when I don't have work, I'll stay as long as I can. I'm taking the train up, and staying over, and then I'll take the train back when I have to go back to work.

What do you do? I work for an environmental nonprofit called Ioby. I-O-B-Y.

What brought you down here? Well, I'm here not only to check it out, but to support everyone that's here. I think that this is a phenomenally organized movement. I think they're doing really great things. I think the "human megaphone" is genius. It keeps people concise and on-message.

What brought you here? Well, the revolution's what brought me here. And the culmination of all these people, and the fight...well, not the fight...[we're moved off the sidewalk by a cop.] Them! [Laughs.] People getting together to protest against greed, that we have no health care, that our education is horrible right now because teachers don't have the freedom to teach what they need to. I used to work in a school. They have to buy the kids' books!

Whereabouts? Here, there, everywhere. Wherever I can get a job. I'm pretty young in the business.

Where'd you graduate from? New England Conservatory, in Boston.

What's your tone? I'm a baritone.

Is this your first night down here? Second night.

Plan on coming back? Yeah. I've been kinda busy because I've been working during the week..

What show are you in? No, just working a job to pay the bills.

For what? Working for a cruise line.

Do you sing for the cruise line? No, I don't sing for the cruise line. I don't know if I could. [Laughs.]

What brought you down here? Just wanted to lend my support. There's a lot of different opinions here, a lot of things I believe in, a lot of things I don't believe in, but I'm here in the city, I have time, I just wanted to show my support.

Applied to any colleges? Where do you want to go? I want to go to Georgetown, that's my number one school. I want to study international relations and political science. I want to work in politics in some way or another, get involved in campaigns before I go to law school.

What kind of law do you want to work in? Corporate Law, actually. It was part of the reason I was so interested to come down here. It's part of that curiosity.

What do you do? I currently work for the Cooper Union Institute for Sustainable Design, but I'm also an ecological designer and have my own company.

Is this your first night down here? No, I've been here pretty consistently after work. Some friends of ours, we set up the water system in the kitchen. A group of us, through an ecological mobile design lab.

How long do you plan on coming here for? Indefinitely. A group of us just started a sustainability working group, so we're developing a redesign of the park.

To make it sustainable for this community? For this community, and after the occupation center clears out, you know, how can we rethink what this park is?

Is there a specific issue that brought you down here? What really kept bringing me back was the general assembly, and really teaching the tools on how to communicate with other people about re-learning behavior, and re-learning the consensus process, and how to listen.

What else? As a teacher, we feel the economic inequality. I'm a first-year teacher, and I only got it from the three—only three, in the entire district, that I knew of—theater teaching jobs that were out there. I got it because I was a student teacher at the school. Also, because I'm awesome. But being a student teacher at the school helped.

And what brought you down here? Many things. I think Wall Street is setting this planet on a one-way path to...something pretty terrible, that's both ecological and economic. And it's unprecedented. There's never been anything like this in the world economy.

Comments

“than many have been lead to believe”—>”than many have been led to believe”. “One of them were even annoyed”—>”One of them was even annoyed”. While I think it’s great that the news is so much more fluid now, the editing of digital content has gotten quite shoddy. You’d never see mistakes like this in The Observer in print.

Why are they picking on Wall Street – why not start a protest in Washington, D.C.? That’s where all the bogus lobbying and other ridiculous business goes on. I’d come to that one if I wasn’t busy being a responsible adult and raising our kids!

Why are they picking on Wall Street – why not start a protest in Washington, D.C.? That’s where all the bogus lobbying and other ridiculous business goes on. I’d come to that one if I wasn’t busy being a responsible adult and raising our kids!

The truth is that India is sending in thousands of IT people at 30K or more for 10 months TAX FREE and then they go back home without paying a dime in taxes to this country. How do I know? I refused to be a part of it. Corporate America outsourced call centers to the Phillippines because America complained about the dialect in India. Don’t take my word for it. When you reach a call center, ask if they are in the United States and if they aren’t – demand to talk to someone who is. They will do anything to prevent that from happening. You can also drive by any big corporation at 5 p.m. and watch the resources coming out of the company. Our Congress and Our President is permitting the other countries to come in and take the good jobs away from this country. India recently announced they have a shortage of workers! We have taken them all. That is what we should be fighting to change. WAKE UP AMERICA!

1. Theater production, there to support the kids.
2. Street performer and activist, there to promote his act and be an activist.
3. part time fashion and costume person for television, I have a friend down here, who’s a Traveler, and an amazing musician. I came down here to drop her off; she just happened to be in town as this was happening.
4. an “author”, there because it makes her feel good.
5. Freelance writer, I don’t know if I’m a protester, but I’m definitely a fellow Traveler.
6. College kid
7. 24yr old ex military looks like a coke head, decided to hang out with his friends.
8. Freelance Photographer… I wonder why a freelance photographer would be there…
9. Freelane Web Designer(unemployed. I used that Title before I got a real job too.)
10. Media Strategist for Abrams Research a social media marketing and campaing company.
11. crazy green energy guy.
12. College kid… protesting wallstreet yet wants a job on wall street.
13. “freelance wandering hobo” Moved to NY becausse his elderly dad could not support his ass.
14. Romanian trying to get back to romania apparently anon wrote him a letter inviting him to come have fun.(sounds fishy)
15. Works for a solar energy company, and owns a landscaping business. Wanted to stand in solidarity with everyone(be part of a group). Although she does sound like she may have an actual real reason besides that.(first one)
16. Californian, here for a photography workshop. Came to shoot pictures of kids to make money.
17. Californian, no real reason besides that he has nothing better to do claims to have bail money in his “room yet only worked 5 hours a week as a cook.
18. High school kid… wants to be an actor… apparently has been professionally doing so since she was little.
19. Political and union call center pawn. There so people become more aware…
20. Finance trader, to check it out.
21. Hr for something in the city… there because her friends are there and its fun.
22. DC kid, Intern for Avaaz R&D. Its her job to go there and campaign. Avaaz assaults the web with spam for causes and campaigns.
23. Graphic designer, Went because she was curious.
24. Wannabe writer. Currently a bartender just graduated from NYU.(maybe should have picked a better major.)
25. wannabe tv producer, angry at 40k in loan debt(tiny by todays standards). Went down there to be around people. Anon mask fool.
26. Comedian, most likely collecting material… but says just interested.
27. Works in education and standup comdeian. There because the slogan pulled her in.
28. It guy(hey me too) Wanted to be part of something.
29. Californian, “I’m a freelance sales rep and landlord, and I have two college-educated, underemployed, and practically couch-surfing children. With their two fine educations. ”
30. Kid who works at Brooklyn Farmacy and Soda Fountain… No idea why she is down there.
31. Kid, morticians assistant, has lots of friends there.
32. Works at a pharmecy… looks like a socialist(at least like the ones i know)
33. Environmentalist Ioby, Checking it out and supporting the kids.
34. “I manage Tim, this guy. He’s a musician. I came here because I want a freer world, and I want everyone to be free…”
35. Musician(Tim Ryans), The revolution man Then talks about “They have to buy the kids’ books!”
36. Opera Singer, Cant find singing work works for cruise line. Lending support even says there is no consice opinion on anything here in the crowd, just has the time to be there.
37. College kid. Wanted to see it.
38. “I do freelance hair and makeup for film and television. Not in the union yet. Three more months, and I’m in the union.”
39. doctor in his residency in manhatten, lives in the financial district there so most likely just there to check it out.
40. College kid… there to talk about tolstoy, enough said.
41. high school kid. Wants to be a politician…
42. Bike courier. Comfort Work Group, has a black tshirt mask.
43. “I currently work for the Cooper Union Institute for Sustainable Design, but I’m also an ecological designer and have my own company” He is there to redesign the park i na more ecological friendly way.
44. Unemplyed recent grad with no ambitions other than maybe going back to school. Traveled the country to hang out on who knows dime. Just hanging out.
45. College kid. There to see what other college kids are doing.
46. “I run a social media agency. It’s very new. Thatcher Interactive.” SOCIAL MEDIA AGENCY his new company named after himself… hmm wonder why.
47. Theater teacher, admits to getting the job because she tried to get one.
48. Musician and organizer, He thinks everything… have an opinon he will agree.
49. Homeless outreach for a nonprofit, he is ther ebecause its a great place.
50. College kid wanted to be a protester tried starting her own in Cincinnati but it didn’t work so she came to NYC. Interesting not… Sociology and secuality studies is her major. Oh oh and no ambition to do anything when she gets out of school.

Thats the 50 people.
Reaccuring theme = college kids, no ambition, not there actually for a cause.